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State
deficit to impact colleges
By Carly Schorman
Mesa Legend
The As the gubernatorial election draws near, many are asking "Why
should I care?"
However, the new governor could have a dramatic impact on the lives of
students, especially those in higher education.
The current state of the Arizona Budget requires drastic changes in order
to reduce the staggering deficit.
We might be forced to pay.
Gov. Jane Hull has spent a difficult year in office. Between the stumbling
economy, reductions in income tax, and, arguably, tax loopholes the budget
may reach $1 billion in the next fiscal year.
Politicians are struggling to find a way to balance the budget.
Gov. Hull is opposed to tax increases and is looking into making further
cuts from state expenses.
She is considering a funding cut of more than $100 million from public
schools in addition to cuts in other areas.
However, Gov. Hull will not be in office much longer.
The new governor will be forced to make some tough decisions.
The top contenders for governor, Republican Matt Salmon and Democrat
Janet Napolitano, both plan to shield education from the necessary cutbacks.
"Only public education should be immune to state budget cuts,"
Napolitano states on her campaign web site.
Neither Salmon nor Napolitano guarantee to grant higher education the
same consideration.
Cutting back funding to colleges and universities is nothing new. Post-secondary
education has faced consistent cuts since 1979 in every state.
According to the January 2001 Mortenson Report, Arizona is currently ranked
32nd in the country for the amount of state funding for higher education.
Currently, only $7.38 of every $1,000 of personal income tax is allotted
to colleges.
Mississippi distributes more than twice that amount.
The problem is getting bigger.
Arizona has the highest percentage of cutbacks in the nation next to Vermont
and Colorado.
Since 1979, funding has dropped 49.5 percent.
If this trend continues Ariz. colleges and universities will receive zero
funding from the state government by 2028.
"Universities are engines of economic growth in a knowledge-based
economy, bringing technology and the best minds to the state," Salmon
writes on his campaign site.
Spending cuts to university funding is a blow to students.
Without sufficient funding, institutions of higher education are faced
with budget cuts of their own.
Limited enrollment, education in faculty, tuition hikes, and reduction
in courses offered are all possible reactions to a financial cutback.
Still, many would rather see more budget cuts rather than face the alternative:
increased taxes.
Delynn Bodine, a student at MCC, is one who would prefer budget cuts to
increased taxes.
"Universities refuse to see how to manage their budget," Bodine
stated.
Salmon intends on promoting "increased efficiency through the development
of shared, specialized programs…" to compensate for reduced
funding.
Noah Kroloff, Policy Director for Napolitano, says school funding is at
the bottom of the list of programs to fact the budget knife.
The current $8.88 billion budget may fall short as much as $400 million.
With a deficit of that magnitude an increase in taxes as well as cuts
to funding may prove necessary.
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